OEM or AAP Timing Belt

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How do you feel about using a parts store timing belt vs a Toyota or Honda OEM timing belt?
 
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I just did the timing belt, tensioner, and water pump on my interference engine civic and used an aisin kit with a mitsuboshi belt. I wouldn't have a problem using a Japanese or USA made belt from a parts store, but I wanted a Japanese made water pump and tensioner so I bought the kit.
 
The belt that you would get from a parts store is probably of decent quality. The things you need to watch for are the hard parts like water pumps, idlers, tensioners. These are things that are just as critical as the belt itself, and usually the parts that are of poor or questionable quality from the parts store.

For the vehicles I have had with timing belts I prefer to get the Aisin branded kit through rock auto. These usually come with OEM quality water pumps, tensioners, etc The last Aisin kit I got came with a Mitsuboshi timing belt and the bearings in the tensioner were the same brand as the factory parts, and the Aisin water pump in my case was the factory part.
 
another vote for the Aisin kit. You get the actual OE parts
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I had to get an OEM belt after this happened with the original TB:

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Most of the parts I bought from the auto parts store were OE equiv (Koyo pulleys, Aisin WP) but the Gates TB didn't have the timing marks on the belt so I got OEM which has the lines so I can get everything redialed.
 
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OEM or OEM supplier like Aisin is the way to go, but I've used a Gates timing belt and component kit on a Subaru with no issues. This was before Gates started switching in Chinese tensioners and idlers. A timing belt is a timing belt in many cases and there was a Polish-made Goodyear Pd on an old Nissan my parents had. It worked just as well as the OEM Unitta that was there.

Supposedly Gates now has two levels - ones with the OEM-spec parts and without.
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
Kibitoshin, Holy smoke! Was there much valve damage?


Luckily none. It's a Toyota Tundra w/ a 5VZ-FE V6 with a non-interference design. If it was the V8 I would've told the owner to scrap the truck since the engine would've been toast and it's his beater work truck.
 
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